Truck bomb outside Thai Muslim city hall kills two
JOH AIRONG, Thailand, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A bomb-rigged truck exploded near a city hall in Thailand's restive largely Muslim south on Thursday, killing two of its passengers and wounding one, police said.
The bomb, estimated to weigh at least 5 kg (11 lbs) and hidden in the truck's fuel tank, was believed to be detonated by a mobile phone as the truck was entering the city hall compound in the violence-prone district of Joh Airong, police said.
The phone's SIM card was found among the shattered remnants of the truck, they said.
The explosion threw the driver, a Muslim village chief who was due to attend attend a monthly meeting with his bosses at the city hall, out of the truck alive but killed and charred his two assistants instantly, police said.
More than 1,100 people have been killed in gun and bomb attacks which have become part of daily life in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since violence flared in January 2004.
Earlier on Thursday, two men with a pistol riding on a motorcycle attacked a motorcycle repair shop in Joh Airong, wounding two Buddhists and a Muslim, police said.
Despite daily attacks on troops and civilians, Buddhists and Muslims alike, the government says it is gaining more help and support from the people, which has led to more detentions of suspects and findings of guns and bombs.
The bomb, estimated to weigh at least 5 kg (11 lbs) and hidden in the truck's fuel tank, was believed to be detonated by a mobile phone as the truck was entering the city hall compound in the violence-prone district of Joh Airong, police said.
The phone's SIM card was found among the shattered remnants of the truck, they said.
The explosion threw the driver, a Muslim village chief who was due to attend attend a monthly meeting with his bosses at the city hall, out of the truck alive but killed and charred his two assistants instantly, police said.
More than 1,100 people have been killed in gun and bomb attacks which have become part of daily life in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since violence flared in January 2004.
Earlier on Thursday, two men with a pistol riding on a motorcycle attacked a motorcycle repair shop in Joh Airong, wounding two Buddhists and a Muslim, police said.
Despite daily attacks on troops and civilians, Buddhists and Muslims alike, the government says it is gaining more help and support from the people, which has led to more detentions of suspects and findings of guns and bombs.
posted by Marko at 2/01/2006 11:40:00 PM
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